One of Those Nights
by flavumetrubrum
Summary: Casey's spending a normal night at home when a frantic knock at his window sends his night spinning into chaos and potential tragedy. Just another night with the turtles, right?


This is an idea I've had bouncing around in my head for a long time. I'm not sure how happy I am with it, but I decided to go ahead and post it anyway. Please let me know what you think.

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Casey tossed the empty beer can in the general direction of his garbage and stumbled wearily over to his tiny bathroom. He splashed some cold water on his face and then returned to his "bed," the weathered, beer-stained old couch he refused to replace. He glanced at the alarm clock; it read 3:37am. Casey groaned and decided to sleep in the next morning.

He had just drifted off when a loud knocking came from his window. He cursed and swore that he would strangle whichever turtle had the guts to drop in after three in the morning. He stumbled blindly over and lifted the glass, rubbing at his eyes in irritation. "What do you want…?" he started, but was cut off by the turtle he least expected it to be.

"Casey… help! He's- I don't know if he's…." Leo gasped, obviously disoriented. His plastron and legs were covered with blood and his eyes were dazed and confused. And draped across his arms, blood seeping from a bullet wound in his thigh, was Raphael.

For a moment, Casey could only stand there and gape at the horrific sight before him. "Please…." Something about the tone in Leo's voice sent a tingle down Casey's spine. It was just so un-Leo-like; so… _desperate. _But it also broke the spell that had fallen over Jones' mind and he immediately moved into action.

"Get 'im inside; lay 'im down on the couch. Have you called Donny yet?"

After a slow nod from Leo, Casey left the oldest turtle to apply pressure to the wound and went into the tiny bathroom to look for some bandages. Donny would surely have something better when he got there, but he would do all he could until the brainy turtle arrived.

Now fully awake, Casey took Leo's place by Raph's leg and pressed a clean rag to the wound. The hot-headed turtle moaned, and Casey was glad that he was at least a little responsive. Leo had moved to Raph's head and was mumbling something under his breath. Casey was really beginning to get weirded out by Leo's strange behavior. He had never seen the young leader so distraught and incoherent.

His train of thought was interrupted when Don and Mikey slipped in through the open window and hurried toward their huddled forms. "How is he?" Don demanded, dropping his duffel bag on the floor and taking Casey's place examining the wound.

"I'm not sure. He's barely conscious, and I don't think he's aware of what's going on. I don't know how much blood he lost, but judging by how much was on Leo I'd say it was a lot." Don nodded quickly and felt along the bottom of Raph's thigh.

"There's no exit wound," he said distractedly. "I'll have to take the bullet out." Casey immediately felt sick to his stomach. Don turned to Leo, who was still by Raph's side. "What happened, bro?"

Leo looked up at his brother, and his eyes were wide and haunted. "I didn't get there in time…," was all he said. He was trembling noticeably, and Don's brow creased in concern.

"Are you okay, Leo?" Leo just nodded and motioned back to Raph with a shaking hand. Don promised himself he would check on Leo as soon as he was finished with their brother. He turned back to Raphael and wiped away as much of the blood as he could. "I'm going to need to go ahead and get the bullet out. The sooner I can stitch his leg up and stop the bleeding, the better." He shuffled around in his duffel bag until he found his emergency medical kit and began to pull out the supplies he would need. "Casey, I'll need you to hold his shoulders and make sure he doesn't move too much. I don't know if he'll even feel this, but you need to keep him still. Mikey, you get his legs." The two nodded and moved into position automatically.

Don once again wiped away the fresh blood before inserting his forceps into the bullet hole. He felt around for a moment before finding the offending piece of metal. Raph barely twitched. "Good; I'm going to be able to get it without making an incision." Casey breathed a sigh of relief as Don withdrew the forceps, bullet pinched between the tips. The brainy turtle dropped the bullet into a specimen jar and immediately prepared to sew up the wound.

Once the stitches were in place and covered with clean bandages, Don sat back and relaxed. "He lost a lot of blood, but not enough to be life-threatening. Once he's awake he should be fine, as long as we can keep infection from setting in." Casey nodded, instantly flooded with relief.

"He'll… be okay?" Leo's small voice asked. Don jumped, obviously having forgotten the oldest turtle's presence next to him.

Remembering his earlier concern, Don turned to the leader. "Yeah, he'll be fine. How about you? Are you alright?" Leo didn't answer, but just continued to shake. Casey shared a worried glance with Mikey; something definitely wasn't right. "Leo?" Don tried again.

Leo stood shakily, and Casey noticed that there was a lot more blood covering him than when he had arrived at the apartment. "Purple Dragons…," he mumbled. Leo took one step toward the window and collapsed.

Casey watched in shock as Mikey sprinted forward, barely catching Leo in time to keep him from hitting his head on the window sill. The youngest turtle held onto Leo's convulsing form, looking up at Don with wide eyes. "What's wrong with him?" he asked, glancing back down at his brother.

Don was at their side in a flash, checking Leo's vitals. "He's in shock," he said as he felt his pulse.

"He's bleeding," Casey said, kneeling behind Don. "There wasn't that much blood before."

Don nodded. "Raph definitely didn't lose this much blood. If this all came from one of them, they'd be dead." He ran his hands over Leo's plastron and stopped suddenly, his hand resting on Leo's stomach. "He's been shot," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Leo too?" Mikey asked, and his eyes grew even wider.

"Get my duffel bag," Don told Casey, and the man instantly obeyed. Don began to examine Leo's wound just as he had Raphael's. "Hold him still." Casey and Mikey took up their positions and held Leo down as Donny dug around in the wound. Leo moaned loudly when Don pulled the bullet out and began to shake harder. Don stitched him up quickly and with the ease of much practice. Then he turned to Mikey and Casey. "The wound wasn't deep, but he's lost a lot of blood. Too much. He needs a transfusion, now."

"I'll do it," Mikey said, and Don nodded. It was the only logical choice. Raph was definitely out of the question, and Don didn't know if Casey's blood was compatible with their own. Don himself needed to be fully aware and energized to care for their brothers. That only left Mikey.

"Thanks, Mikey," Don said as he inserted the needle into his little brother's arm. He quickly attached the other end of the tube to Leo watched as blood flowed out of one brother and into another. When he knew that Mikey could spare no more he pulled the needle from his elbow and quickly taped a cotton ball over the puncture wound.

Now all they could do was wait and hope the violent shaking stopped and that Leo's breathing and blood pressure evened out. Don checked on Raph while Mikey stayed with Leo, and Casey began to feel completely useless. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke quietly. "Do you want me to call Master Splinter, tell 'im what happened?"

Don looked up and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, that would be great, Casey. He's probably worried sick. Tell 'im Raph's stable and will be just fine, and unless there's a complication Leo should be okay too. We'll call again if there's any change." Casey nodded and stepped out onto the fire escape to make the call.

When he hung up he lingered outside for a while, leaning against the side of the building and relaxing for the first time since hearing Leo's knock. It had been a long night, and the sun was already beginning to light up the streets of New York. He replayed the night's events in his head, and cursed himself for not checking on Leo sooner. He should have noticed that he had been hurt, but he had been so worried about Raph that he hadn't thought about anything else. If Leo died he would never forgive himself.

What felt like hours later, but was really only a few minutes, Don's head poked out of the window and the turtle called to get his attention. "Casey! Leo's stopped shaking. He's stable; he's gonna be okay." Don immediately disappeared back inside, leaving an exhausted and extremely relieved Casey alone again.

Casey shook his head slowly. His life had ceased to be boring the moment he had met the turtles. Some nights were crazier than others, and this had proved to be one of those nights. He figured that one day this would just be a distant memory, another adventure to look back on and tell exaggerated stories about. But for now his friends needed him, and he knew he should get inside and help take care of Raph and Leo. He went back inside and was immediately bombarded with orders form Don, who was shoving clean bandages into his arms. He sighed and obeyed automatically. He could already tell; this was going to be one of those days.


End file.
